Get Noticed

Promoting your article

for maximum impact
 GET NOTICED
More than 2.5 million scientific
articles are published each year, and
that number is rising. So it’s increasingly
important for you to find ways to
make your article stand out.

While there is much that publishers

and editors can do to help, as the
paper’s author you are often best
placed to explain why your findings
are so important or novel.

This brochure shows you what

Elsevier does and what you can do
yourself to ensure that your article
gets the attention it deserves.

GET NOTICED 2 GET NOTICED 3

 1 PREPARING YOUR ARTICLE
When writing your article it’s important to choose the right journal. The
journal with the right scope can be key to reaching your target audience.
The easiest way for finding an Elsevier journal is using Journal Finder:
journalfinder.elsevier.com.

Also, a good abstract is instrumental. Make sure that your abstract

clearly and concisely explains what is new in your paper and why that is
important.

POWERFUL WAYS TO PRESENT YOUR RESEARCH

With features such as AudioSlides, Virtual Microscope, Interactive Map
Viewer and 3D Molecular Models, Elsevier’s Content Innovation program
gives you the opportunity to present your work in powerful new ways. By
supporting new digital formats that are commonly used in modern-day
research, and adding valuable context to the article, these enrichments
improve the way articles are presented online, giving your readers better
insights and helping you make an impact.

Find out which options are available for journals in your research field:
elsevier.com/about/content-innovation.

AudioSlides
AudioSlides are short, webcast-style presentations, allowing you to
present your research in your own words. Your AudioSlides appear
alongside your article once it is published on Elsevier’s ScienceDirect
platform. They are free to access and easy to share, independently from
your article, with colleagues, (influential) bloggers and on social media
including YouTube. For Tips and Tricks on how to create them, visit
elsevier.com/audioslides.

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 Graphical Abstracts
A Graphical Abstract is a visual summary of the main findings of the
article that is placed as part of your article an ScienceDirect and will turn
up in online search result lists. It will help people to understand the key
point of your article at a glance. You can make use of our professional
illustration services at the Elsevier webshop: webshop.elsevier.com.
You can use your Graphical Abstract as a promotional tool by for exam-
ple tweeting it, sharing it on social media or sending it to an (influential)
blogger. Always add a link to your article.
Tips for SEO include:
• Use keywords, especially in the title and abstract.
• Add captions with keywords to all photographs, images, graphs and tables.
• Add titles or subheadings (with keywords) to the different sections of
your article.
• Make sure you place links to your article from relevant websites e.g.
your institute’s website, Wikipedia, LinkedIn, blogs and social media.

Sharing Data
Sharing research data is good scientific practice; sharing data
makes it accessible and enables others to gain new insights and
make interpretations for their own research. As an author, you can
choose to store your data in a repository, like Mendeley Data, to
make your dataset independently citeable and link it with your article:
elsevier.com/books-and-journals/content-innovation/data-base-linking.

You can also additionally publish a brief, peer-reviewed data article in

journals such as Data in Brief. Thanks to a detailed description, the data ‘Audioslides were a great tool for to get the message across
published in data articles can be reused, reanalyzed and reproduced to busy professionals and the general public in 5 minutes
by others. This helps you get credit for your work through proper data with pretty pictures to make it accessible. Also, it is free so
citation and opens doors for new collaborations. For more information, anyone can use it and the resulting presentations are
see elsevier.com/books-and-journals/research-elements/data-articles. open access. I think it is a fantastic vehicle to get the
research out there.’
SEO YOUR ARTICLE
Search Engine Optimization (SEO) helps to ensure that your article THANH-LAN GLUCKMAN
appears higher in the results returned by search engines such as Google. PhD student,
This can mean you attract more readers, gain higher visibility in the Department of Zoology, University of Cambridge, UK
academic community, and potentially increase citations.

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 2 PUBLISHING YOUR ARTICLE
YOUR ARTICLE ON SCIENCEDIRECT
Elsevier will publish your article on ScienceDirect, a leading information
solution providing authoritative, full-text scientific, technical and medical
content from Elsevier.By optimizing the platform and indexing all
content, Elsevier works to ensure that your article is more visible and
can be found more easily by search engines, library discovery services,
A&I databases, and other innovative search and discovery tools.

Your article will be accessible immediately after acceptance, and have

a unique DOI (Digital Object Identifier), that will always link to the
latest available version of your article. Elsevier also participates in the
multi-publisher initiative CrossRef, which enables articles that cite you
to link directly to your paper. The CrossMark logo in online PDF or
HTML documents helps readers to verify that they are using the most
recent and reliable version. Visit sciencedirect.com.

TABLE OF CONTENTS ALERT

When your article is published, a link is sent to everyone who has
subscribed to the journal’s free Table of Contents email alert.

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 3 PROMOTING YOUR ARTICLE
CONFERENCES
Presenting and networking at conferences personalizes your work,
giving it a face and a voice, and it can create new opportunities for
collaboration. Make sure you connect with other delegates on Facebook
and LinkedIn, and direct them to your website or blog.

If you create a poster for a conference, perhaps accompanied by flyers,

you can also post them on your website, and provide links on your blog,
social media profiles, online CV, or institutional page.

MEDIA RELATIONS
Research statement
If you would like journalists, media outlets and the public to pick up
on your published paper, it can help to have a brief statement prepared
which explains the significance of your research and its key outcomes
in simple language. This statement can be used as a basis for
press releases or sharing on social media.

Make use of your institution’s communications channels

If you’re affiliated with a particular institution, chances are that it sends
out press releases to local media, and publishes one or more internal
newsletters. Increasingly, institutions also have their own press office
and PR/media staff. Get in touch with them to see what they can do to
help you promote your published paper.

You can request a ‘share link’ from Elsevier (see more information on
page 10) to use in the institute’s press release. Using the ‘share link’
on social media, personal webpage and institutional page will increase
traffic to your article.

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 Media outreach by Elsevier
Elsevier promotes selected research papers to the global scientific media.
The channels available for this are: Press releases (see elsevier.com/
about/press-releases), the Elsevier Connect (bi-weekly email sent out to
more than 1600 subscribing journalists) and Elsevier Connect (Elsevier’s
online platform with daily stories by science, technology and health
professionals).
If you think your article is interesting for a wider audience and/or
would like more information about any of the above, contact us at
researchcomm@elsevier.com to explore the possibilities.
GET STARTED
Write a research statement
Share your research statement with relations and (influential bloggers)
Make use of your institution’s communication channels
Contact Elsevier if you think your article is interesting for a wider audience
SHARE YOUR ARTICLE
Sharing your research and findings can help you make a greater impact
in your community, leading to better collaborations and potential
new ideas and innovations. Millions of researchers have access to your
formal publication hosted on ScienceDirect helping users to find,
access, and cite your research using the best available version.
There are a number of options for posting and sharing your article.
To find out more, see elsevier.com/promote-your-work.
Share link
Elsevier will send you a ‘share link’: a personal, customized short link that
you will receive after final publication of your article. It provides 50 days’
free access to your newly-published article on ScienceDirect to anyone
GET NOTICED 12
clicking on the link. We encourage you to share this link on social media,
so that it will contribute to your article metrics score. After 50 days the
share link will still work but automatically revert to a link to your full text
article. The more links there are to your article from a range of relevant
websites, the more readers you’ll attract and the higher it will appear on
search engine results. For more information on sharing your article, see
elsevier.com/sharing-articles.
MENDELEY
Mendeley is a powerful reference manager and a Scholarly Collaboration
Network with more than 5 million users. Create a free account to discover
relevant research, connect and collaborate with the global community.
GET STARTED
Start a free account at mendeley.com and explore
Scholarly Collaboration Networks (SCNs)
Services such as SCNs enable authors to showcase their work, providing
fast and effective ways to collaborate and disseminate research. Elsevier
and a number of SCNs, such as Mendeley, are working together to help
to showcase your work by sharing links to published journal articles on
author profiles. We encourage authors to share their research responsibly
on SCNs. You can share your preprint, article abstract or a link to your article.
Additional sharing options may be available, see elsevier.com/sharingpolicy.
BE DISCOVERED ONLINE
It’s important people can find you and link to your publications online.
If you have a personal page at your institute, include links to the
final version of your articles on that page. There are also a few easy tools
available to help you increase your online visibility.
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 ORCID AND SCOPUS AUTHOR PROFILES
Elsevier’s Scopus (scopus.com) is the world’s largest abstract and citation
database of peer-reviewed literature and it features smart tools to track,
analyze and visualize research. When you’ve published an article in any
peer-reviewed journal, you automatically have a Scopus profile. It is a good
idea to check and update your profile containing the right publications.
ORCID (Open Researcher and Contributor ID, orcid.org) seeks to remedy
the systemic name ambiguity problems seen in scholarly research by
assigning unique identifiers linkable to an individual’s research output.
You can now update both your Scopus and your ORCID at
orcid.scopusfeedback.com. Please follow the easy steps online.
LINKEDIN
This networking site is used professionally by 65 percent of the researchers
we surveyed. Create a profile and post your latest accomplishments.
You can enhance your profile by adding research findings, articles,
images, videos, SlideShare presentations and audio recordings
(for example, your AudioSlides presentation). You can also join relevant
groups and connect with other researchers in your discipline.
GET STARTED
Create a profile on linkedin.com
Add a picture and your CV
Reposition the publication section to a more prominent position
at the top of your profile
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Include any relevant honors and awards
Enhance your profile with images, Graphical Abstracts,
AudioSlides and video
PERSONAL WEBSITE
Whereas LinkedIn is good for connecting and summarizing your
research, your own website gives people a better sense of who you
are. Create a personal professional website highlighting your research
findings, achievements, publications and ambitions. Post videos or
images to create a buzz around posters or conference presentations.
Always include links to your articles, and link to your website in your
email signature, and on all of your online and social media profiles,
to get maximum exposure. You can also add links to your academic
social networks, Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter and other accounts.
GET STARTED
Pick a url at which to register your website. Try your name or a
combination of initials and last name. You can check availability of urls
and register them on sites such as GoDaddy, or DomainRegistry.com.
Once you’ve registered a url, you can start creating your website.
Use a platform such as WordPress, Weebly, Yola or Jigsy.
Not all websites offer hosting, but WordPress, Weebly and Yola are
among those that do. If a platform doesn’t offer hosting, you can find a
commercial provider which does.
Use keywords in the text and metadata to increase the number of
visitors who find your page through search engine searches.
For more information see publishingcampus.elsevier.com
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 BLOG
Blogs are proven to be effective in promoting your research and having
an impact. You can promote in-depth conversation via your blog, and
build credibility by sharing information and responding to feedback from
other researchers. Blogs require a regular time commitment. You may
consider your blog a good exercise in learning how to communicate
science to the public.
Once you’ve started your blog, write regular updates to showcase your
research undertakings and other topics of interest. Make sure you
provide links to your journal articles and publications. Readers can follow
and subscribe to your posts, leave comments, and start conversations.
GET STARTED
Register with one of the several blogging websites and start designing
your website.
Invite friends and colleagues from your network to follow your blog.
Some of the most popular sites offering simple-to-use blogging are
blogger.com, wordpress.com, typepad.com and movabletype.com.
SOCIAL MEDIA
Every day scholarly articles receive thousands of new mentions across
social media, news and blogs. It’s a powerful medium for reaching your
potential readers.
You don’t have to be on all social media – it can be best to find one or
two channels that suit you and your purposes.
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FACEBOOK
Facebook is a popular social media tool, but you can also leverage it for
professional purposes. You can share photos, status updates and links
regarding your research with your Facebook friends. Recent research1
shows that the richness of the content that you share on Facebook raises
the impact of the post, i.e. posting images and videos during business
hours has a positive impact on Facebook likes and comments.
You can also join groups catering for your field of expertise, connect with
like-minded research professionals and use Facebook as a collaborative
space to share with fellow researchers.
GET STARTED
Make a profile on facebook.com
If you want to keep your regular profile for only social purposes,
create an author page for your professional endeavors
Invite fellow researchers to be a friend
Discuss ideas and carry out debates
Link to your articles
Share images, videos and audio recordings, e.g. AudioSlides,
and a Graphical Abstract
Recruit participants for research
Join groups related to your research field
Sabate, Ferran, 2014. “Factors Influencing popularity of branded content in Facebook
1
fan pages”. European Management Journal. DOI: 10.1016/j.emj.2014.05.001
GET NOTICED 17
 WECHAT
WeChat is a fast growing instant messaging social network in China,
but you can also leverage it for professional purposes. This mobile-based
app offers you a great way to share photos, status updates and links
regarding your research with your WeChat friends.
You can also join groups catering for your field of expertise, connect with
S like-minded research professionals and use WeChat as a collaborative
space to share with fellow researchers.
GET STARTED
Install the app on your mobile phone
Sign up with your phone number and make a profile
Add your friends to your Contacts by scanning your mobile contacts or
searching their WeChat ID, phone number, or QQ ID
Invite fellow researchers to be a friend
Discuss ideas and carry out debates in your groups
Link to your articles
Share images, status updates and links regarding your research
Ask your friends to add you to groups related to your research field
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WEIBO*
Known as Chinese Twitter, Weibo is one of the most popular social
network in China. It gives you a chance to share quick thoughts using
no more than 140 characters and 9 pictures. Today, millions of people
are active on Weibo. It’s a great way to share your current research,
publications and links to new blog posts.
GET STARTED
Make a profile on weibo.com
If you want yourself and your research field to be discovered easier,
apply for verification for your account
Follow other researchers and thereby increase your own following
Post regular content, e.g. links to hot papers, events and conferences
Respond promptly to direct messages and comments
Repost. By promoting other members of your community you are
raising your own profile at the same time
Use images. A picture is twice as likely to be reposted as text
* “Weibo” is often used generically to refer to Sina Weibo.
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 TWITTER GOOGLE+

Twitter gives you a chance to share quick thoughts using no more Google+ makes it easier for you to be discovered online, and it’s
than 140 characters. Today, one third of all scholars are active on Twitter. integrated with other Google services such as Gmail and YouTube.
It’s a great way to share your current research, publications and links to
new blog posts.

GET STARTED WIKIPEDIA

Make a profile on twitter.com
Follow other researchers and thereby increase your own following
Post regular content, e.g. links to hot papers, events and conferences
Respond promptly to direct messages and comments
Retweet. By promoting other members of your community you are
raising your own profile at the same time
Wikipedia is the well-known, free, online encyclopedia where registered
users can create and edit entries. Not everyone can have a Wikipedia
page; once you’ve published several books and articles, and have
gained a solid reputation in your field, you have a better chance of
successfully obtaining one. Links to your article from a Wikipedia page
will dramatically increase your SEO. You can try to include an entry
with a link to your article on a relevant topic page. Wikipedia has many
guidelines for writing an entry, so check its website for more details.

Use images. A picture is twice as likely to be retweeted as text

REDDIT SITE

On the popular bookmarking site Reddit, people share interesting

articles in sections dedicated to a wide range of topics, including specific
scientific fields. This is a way to communicate with a wider audience on
your research topic.

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 4 MONITOR YOUR ARTICLE
After promoting your article, you’ll want to know how it’s been received.
Elsevier helps you monitor your success in a variety of ways.

MENDELEY STATS
Mendeley Stats is an Elsevier service to authors but not limited to
Elsevier published articles. Based on Scopus it also provides citation
information for articles published with other publishers. Any author who
has published at least one article with Elsevier within the last 10 years will
be invited to register for a personalized dashboard, offering:
• early feedback on how your publications are being downloaded,
shared and cited based on ScienceDirect, Mendeley and Scopus;
• data about the geographic locations and research disciplines
of your readers;
• detailed information about search terms used in ScienceDirect
to find your publications; and
• a comparison of the performance of your article with other articles

Have you not been invited to register for your personal dashboard yet?
Don’t worry, you can easily register via mendeley.com/stats.

ARTICLE METRICS
Who’s talking about papers online and what’s being said? Article metrics
allow you to track and analyze online activity around your article.

Online article mentions are monitored from social media sites

(e.g. Twitter, Facebook, Google+), science blogs, many mainstream
media outlets (including the NY Times, The Guardian, non-English
language publications like Die Zeit and Le Monde and special
interest publications like Scientific American, and New Scientist)
and reference managers for mentions of academic papers.
Via our journal homepages, we will show Top-10 lists of popular
articles. Any article covered on Scopus will both show article metrics
and percentile comparisons to articles of the same type and age.
Metrics will only be displayed if data is available.

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 5 FURTHER INFORMATION
AND TRAINING
PUBLISHING CAMPUS
The Elsevier Publishing Campus provides researchers all over the world
with free access to valuable training and advice on applying for grants,
planning their career or improving their publishing skills.
Divided into six colleges, the Campus offers online lectures, interactive
training materials, videos and expert advice on a wide range of topics.
For every online lecture or interactive course completed, researchers are
awarded an Elsevier certificate.
POSTDOC FREE ACCESS PROGRAM
Elsevier’s Postdoc Free Access Program supports young scholars who
are between jobs or looking for their first postdoctoral position.
Qualified applicants are granted up to 12 months’ free access to all our
journals and books on ScienceDirect, greatly benefitting their work
on grant applications and research projects. For more information see
elsevier.com/postdoc-free-access.

The College of Skills Training - the biggest and most widely used of the
colleges - covers the whole academic publishing process. This college
provides in-depth information and training on how to write, structure
and submit a great article and improve authors’ chances of getting
published. Key subjects such as ethics, author rights and open access
options are included. Advice on successful grant writing can be looked Certificate of Completion
up in the Research Funding section. The peer-review process, essential
to improve the quality of articles, is also explained in detail – training
A. Researcher
has successfully completed the following
not only includes how authors can work with reviewers’ comments, but Publishers: origins, roles, and contributions
courses on how to become a good peer reviewer. For more information on Thursday 26 May, 2016
see publishingcampus.com.

AUTHORS’ UPDATE
Our interactive Authors’ Update website has all the information you need
to help you get published and promote your articles. Regular posts keep
you in touch with industry developments and services designed to sup-
port your publishing efforts. You can also sign-up to receive free, regular
email alerts. For more information see elsevier.com/authors-update.

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 CONCLUSION Save time organising
The availability of online and social
media tools help you to get noticed
and writing papers
today. Online media promotes your
research findings and publications Download Mendeley for free
to a wider audience making your
research more visible.

As a result, you’ll attract more readers,

potentially increase citations, build
a stronger reputation and expand
your professional network. The efforts
you make online today will make
you stronger offline tomorrow –
so get involved, and get noticed!

www.mendeley.com

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Useful Links
Authors’ Home
elsevier.com/authors
Authors’ Update
elsevier.com/authors-update
Elsevier Connect
elsevier.com/connect
Elsevier Newsroom
elsevier.com/about/elsevier-newsroom
Elsevier Webshop
webshop.elsevier.com
Ethics in Research & Publication
publishingcampus.com/ethics
Journal Finder
journalfinder.elsevier.com
Mendeley Stats
mendeley.com/stats
Postdoc Free Access Program
elsevier.com/postdoc-free-access
Promote your work
elsevier.com/promote-your-work
Publishing Campus
publishingcampus.com
Sharing your article
elsevier.com/sharing-articles

© June 2016 by Elsevier. All rights reserved.